Okunote Kietsu
by DemeterChild
Summary: As the war rages, Seireitei is in turmoil. But there's always hope. Always. IchiRuki, UraYoru, and others. Might be a Multi-Chapter. Depends on the reviews!


I know this is a common plot, though I hope you enjoy it anyway. ^^

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"It seems apparent that we must prepare for war. The hogyoku is just about ready, and we cannot let Aizen have the upper hand." Yamamoto said, facing the Captains… or, at least, the few that were left.

Aizen had been increasing the creation of Arrancar, and sending them to Seireitei to weaken their forces.

Many high-ranked officers were swatted to the side like pesky bugs, others killed along with their opponent.

It was a troubling time, and Ichigo and his friends were called to remain on Stand-by in the Soul Society.

Urahara and Yoruichi were called on as well, taking shelter in their previous squads.

Anyone who could be called upon had been contacted. The Vizards offered a hand in cases of emergency, and had decided to stay in the Real World to watch it while the Karakura group was gone.

Meanwhile, Hinamori Momo was missing, along with over half the lieutenants.

Their Zanpakuto remained, but when questioned, they could not get through to their masters.

Yamamoto was infuriated, but chose to keep his usual composure as a way to calm the nerves of his subordinates.

Soi Fon glanced at the other Captains. They looked like they had little rest. All of them had been fighting all day to keep the Arrancar at bay.

Worse, half lost their second-in-command, meaning they had to take care of twice the workload.

She had the same problem, but was easily concealing it. Ukitake would ask her a lot lately how she kept so energized, but any minute she would simply fall over and begin a long, long nap.

Soi Fon was secretly betting herself that she could act energized for the rest of the day.

She would probably lose.

Ichigo, meanwhile, was sitting in the forest, thinking to himself. Was this war going to turn Seireitei; he quickly glanced behind himself at the enormous buildings; into little bits of dust?

Surely Soul Society was stronger…

But if even the Captain-Commander doubted victory, he thought, would they ever win?

He sure hoped so.

If anyone died, which he was sure many had, they should not lose their lives in vain. They would fight for those who will lose their lives in battle.

They would honor them.

Except, of course, Sosuke Aizen. They might host a party for that one.

Ichigo smiled, and gazed at the brilliant blue sky. Birds darted from tree to tree, singing.

Clouds drifted, in all shapes and sizes.

He hummed, content.

Kuchiki Rukia sat in the branches of that same tree. She simply wished that none of her friends would lose their lives to a man with a dangerous ambition.

Her brother was losing sleep over the war preparations, and she was worried for him.

Orihime had been on duty at the Squad 4 Barracks since they had arrived, healing the wounded.

Renji, one of the lieutenants who remained, was helping Byakuya.

Ishida was off fighting with Chad.

Only Ichigo remained as a source of comfort. Not that he was, though.

She looked down at him. Ichigo was leaning against the trunk of the tree, gazing at the sky, humming. He looked at peace and smiling, which was so rare she almost fell out of the tree in shock.

Ichigo heard rustling above him, and spotted Rukia staring down at him in what seemed like surprise.

"What's up, midget?"

Rukia glared at him and turned away.

Ichigo laughed, another rare occurrence, then returned to humming contentedly and gazing at the sky.

Rukia wondered how he could be so calm in the midst of war.

But she also knew that being calm in a time like this could be a good thing. It was probably just optimism.

Rukia dismissed it as the Strawberry being a careless idiot and fell asleep in the branches of the tree.

A raven-haired midget fell the minute she rolled over.

Lesson learned: never fall asleep in a tree. (Get it? Ha, ha.)

She landed on top of Ichigo, who stared at her in confusion.

"How did you fall?"

Rukia gritted her teeth, untangled herself, and sat beside him. "I fell asleep is all."

Ichigo frowned in worry, but his eyes were amused. "Midget, you should be more careful. We wouldn't want you in Squad 4, getting healed for falling out of a tree."

Rukia kicked him.

Ah, young love.

Urahara had shaved off his facial stubble, and he looked quite a bit younger. Yoruichi teased him constantly whenever she stopped by.

It was her custom, visiting Urahara daily to check on him. Some younger members spread rumors, and soon they were on the cover of the Seireitei Magazine.

Though others were planning on putting Kuchiki Rukia and Kurosaki Ichigo on the cover next week.

No one knew for sure, but at least the younger generations were having a good time.

Even though Seireitei was in chaos, some things never change.


End file.
